How We Spend It: 'I'm a Stay At Home Mum With Six Properties'

She's working hard for her family's future! Image: UnsplashSource:Whimn

Yep, she wants to retire in a decade.

In our How We Spend It series of (anonymous) audits we dive into the way women earn, save, waste and spend money. But also the reality of debt. Because beyond what we splurge on and share – like wardrobe investments and ‘gram-worthy travel – we’re rarely honest about our bank balance reality with ourselves, let alone with one another. So let’s talk money.

THE BASICS

Age: 32

Occupation: I’m a stay-at-home mum of a 17-month-old. I used to be in retail, earning between $10 and $18k a year.

Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Salary: $0

Payslip: $0

HECS debt: $2000. I did a few months of a nursing degree before getting pregnant. I don’t think I’ll return to it as we hope to retire in a decade anyway.

Savings: $1.7 million in investment properties. Starting at age 19 (me) and 22 (him), we bought one investment property each then met, got married and bought more. At one point we had ten properties, and now we have six after selling a block of four units. We have a current net worth of $1.25 million. My mum lent me $30k for my first deposit and I’ve since paid her back in full. Hubby saved hard for over two and a half years to have $80k for his first home deposit when he was on a $45k graduate salary.

Husband’s Income: He earns $100k but previously earnt $110-$130k while doing Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) mining work. But now we have a child, we want him home every night. When he was FIFO, and earning that amount, we were able to save a lot and paid off two mortgages within eight months. We hope to be financially independent and retire in our 40s.

MONTHLY EXPENSES

Mortgage: $800 a month. Another dwelling we own and rent out pays $320 per week ($1280 a month) so that covers our mortgage and more being positively geared.

Living amenities: $150 a month, as most of our electricity is covered by our solar panels.

Phone: $15 a month with Aldi prepaid.

Netflix: $0. We have a voucher for 18 months of free Netflix.

Savings: We offset on our properties. Any other cash gets put weekly into shares, which is about $2k per month. We save as much as possible; I can access his salary and we don’t split anything.

Self-care: $30 a week on occasional haircuts, clothes and the odd massage.

Credit card: $0. We use a credit card to get frequent flyer points, for some groceries etc. but we always pay in full to not accrue any interest.

Food: Approximately $100 a week. That includes nappies, wipes, toiletries, fruit, veggies and everything else we eat.

Health insurance: $84 a month.

Petrol: $200 a month.

ANNUAL EXPENSES

Insurances: Approximately $5k per year, which is roughly $500-$600 for each property, $600 for the car and $1300 for home and contents.

Travel: With our son, we went to Turkey, Morocco, Spain and Switzerland in 2019. In 2020 we’ll go to Thailand and then Bali for a wedding. The flights are mostly paid for with points and we spend approximately $3k on each trip. We love to travel! We went to 28 countries before having a baby. We Airbnb’d, stayed at friends’ places, travelled to budget destinations and ate (delicious) street food to save cash.

DAILY DILEMMA: Should you combine finances with your partner?

According to research, couples born after 1981 are less likely to combine their finances. whimn's Melissa Shedden joins Studio 10 to discuss.

DAY ONE

MORNING – Last day in Melbourne! Hubby has been working in Melbourne, but we’ve stayed with his parents for three weeks, which was great (they’re awesome). We wake up at 7am and have breakfast; toast with honey and ricotta. We go shopping at an op shop in Warrandyte and I find some Gorman, Alice McCall, Seed and Country Road pieces for $1 each ($10 all up).

NOON – Back to our family’s place for lunch; I have a lamb and eggplant middle eastern dish (thanks in-laws). We taxi to the airport, courtesy of my husband’s company ($100-ish). They also paid for his flight home and we booked my flight on points (our 17-month-old son flies free). Thankfully he sleeps most of the flight home. We pick up our car at the airport ($92, courtesy of his company too).

NIGHT – We get home and I cook up some roast veggies and quinoa before having an early night. We’re all asleep by 8:45pm.

DAY TWO

MORNING – Early wake up at 5.45am (thanks, baby boy). We head to our surfing mums’ group where we tag-team between watching the kids at the playground/on the beach and then surfing. He’s so tired after he sleeps in the car ride home.

NOON – I make a banana-cheese toastie, then head to grab groceries ($105). We pop into the library and I cancel a model casting for my son as they want to charge a $690 photography fee.

NIGHT – For dinner I make a potato bake and salad before playing with my son and putting him to sleep. Hubby gets home at 7pm and we watch The Project. We fall asleep at 9pm.

DAILY TOTAL: $105

When you need a hand (or three). Photo: StocksySource:Whimn

DAY THREE

MORNING – I wake at 6.40am and head to meet some friends with bubs at Eumundi Markets. I opt for a mango smoothie ($5). I send a children’s wear designer a photo of my son and she decides to use him as a model in exchange for some linen rompers for him.

NOON – I put my son down for a nap and have leftover potato bake for lunch before prepping a (free) Hello Fresh meal for dinner of Japanese beef tacos. I then get to work on some chores: tidy house, vacuum and do some laundry. My toddler tries to help but slows me down; he’s cute trying to do what I’m doing.

NIGHT – We eat the beef tacos I prepared earlier and watch The Bachelorette. I have some trouble putting an excited toddler down at his bedtime (8pm) and so we all fall asleep around 9pm.

DAILY TOTAL: $5

Nothing beats a mango smoothie in summer. mage: iStockSource:Whimn

DAY FOUR

MORNING – I wake up at 6am, have a coffee, then green smoothie and eat muesli for breaky. Son in tow, we head to the beach for a walk and swim. He sleeps on the car ride home.

NOON – Guzman yGomez is opening new store in the area so I score a free Mexican burrito bowl for lunch before having a friend over for a cuppa. They want to buy a house and have a deposit but the bank won’t look at them while she’s on maternity leave. I also find out hubby’s work Christmas party will be a sail around Sydney Harbour, including flights from the Sunshine Coast and accommodation for the three of us! Win.

NIGHT – I cook lentil Bolognese with whole meal pasta and watch The Bachelorette again. I snack on some dark chocolate and breastfed my son to sleep. He goes down at 8.30pm and I fall asleep promptly 15 minutes after.

DAY FIVE

MORNING – I wake up at 6.20am and make a mango smoothie and muesli for breakfast. I head to the plaza to return something I bought the other week. It has an indoor playground, so my son plays for a little while before we head to the beach for swim for an hour. Beach runs can be a mission but we set up on the non-sand area in the shade and have a couple of dips before going to the playground.

NOON – I make a late lunch of avocado, banana and cheese toasties and spend the afternoon with my son at home.

NIGHT – For dinner I make Portuguese chicken with wedges and salad. All of us have an early night, with the toddler in bed at 8pm and hubby and I at 8.45pm.

DAILY TOTAL: $0

Toasties are God's gift to earth. Image :iStockSource:Whimn

DAY SIX

MORNING – I make a fruit salad for breakfast. Being a Saturday, we head to the beach for a swim with hubby and toddler. At home, I pot some cacti from the garden to sell on Facebook Marketplace.

NOON – I meal prep for the week a big tofu, bean and roast vegetable curry with rice. We then do some gardening; we have a veggie and herb garden with a few fruit trees. It’s lovely to eat your own produce. I currently have heaps of cherry tomatoes, so I give some to our neighbours who often give me lots of bananas from their garden to freeze for smoothies.

NIGHT – For dinner I make a bacon and mushroom risotto. I put our toddler down to sleep takes, which takes a while as he’s a bit hyped up. We settle in for a quiet evening.

DAILY TOTAL: $0

It was great to catch up with friends at Church. Source: istockSource:Whimn

DAY SEVEN

MORNING – We wake up at 6.45am and hubby makes scrambled eggs. We then head to church - it's lovely to catch up with friends we haven’t seen in a month because we were away in Melbourne.

NOON – We have some leftover risotto for lunch before we head to the beach for a swim. After, we go and pick up a free kids table and chairs set that I found on Facebook Marketplace. I spend the afternoon sanding and repainting it. I also sell a few cacti, pocketing $150.

NIGHT – I make a loaded pork burrito bowl for dinner and we have a quiet Sunday night in.

DAILY TOTAL: $0

Want to do your own How We Spend It entry? Email Casey Vassallo at hello@caseyvassallo.com or DM her on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/caseyjvassallo/) to talk about sharing your money diary.